It's time to talk about Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Habsro has made a second go at a Dungeons and Dragons Movie. The first one, released in 2000, was really bad. Not even people who like bad movies have trouble watching this. I've seen it and actively try to forget most of the time I've seen it. This one does not have that problem. It is better put together. If anything it feels like an adventure that a group would play through.

Also, spoilers for the majority of the article. If you just want my final thoughts then you can jump to the end. That, I promise, won’t give away anything. The rest of it, it’s fair game and I’ll share my thoughts on the plot points freely. Did we need both Dungeons and Dragons in the movie? No. Did it help? Yes. 

First, let's be clear, I am a D&D player (and Dungeon Master). I've played in many games and run games for close to 20 years at this. I've made worlds and I've run from modules. Done the dungeons, killed the Dragons (and befriended them and tried other things too – Horny PC’s will go to Horny Jail), and killed characters too. I’m familiar with all the things that we all bring to the table. I’m soundly in the camp of the DM and the PC’s are telling a story together. We all bring something different to the table.

First, let’s talk about Magic. There are a lot of forms that Magic can take in D&D. I loved that they took a moment to talk about how there are rules to the mystical force of Magic. Even Sorcerers and Druids are bound by it. But it’s also something personal. How Simon’s magic manifested as different from Doric’s and that was different from Sofina. The movie embraces that magic has strange, sometimes arbitrary rules it has to follow. In a place with magic freely, the spellcasters have their own rules. We don’t know the rules. But Simon (Justice Smith) and Doric (Sophia Lillis) know what they are. They might not have had a limitation on how much they could cast, or it was based on their own endurance (and skill).

For Simon, having a somewhat skilled, but lacking self-confidence, Sorcerer was a great touch. Give him something basic to do, he’ll manage, maybe. But have him under some pressure and he could manage a surprising level of greatness. Just seeing him work on himself in that way throughout the movie. I loved that his spellcasting focus was the little twist and click device on his belt. His magic does have a penchant for drawing in elements of what’s around it to manifest itself. A lot of that makes for excellent flavor, even in a TTRPG for how the spells work.

Doric played well as a Druid. Her interest was in the people who took her in. She was more the confident spellcaster of the party. She knew the limits of her magic well and how to work within them. The Wildshape escape from infiltrating to learn about the vault and its protections. Going from something as small as a fly to a deer or her favorite: the Owlbear. That choice alone, giving us that Iconic monster as a wildshape, was amazing. The final confrontation and the numerous fights were made that much more impressive bringing in the massive creature. She was very cinematic to watch and someone you could enjoy the story of.

Let’s jump over to the other side of the cast for magic with Sofina (Daisy Head). She got screen-time and could loom amazingly well. Having her be part of a well-known cult with the Forgotten Realms was an excellent choice. Sofina with very little effort comes to the center of our attention any time she’s really on screen. Whether she’s in her “incognita” black outfit or her Thay Outfit, it was distinctive to see and it was impressive in terms of what she did. Seeing what spells she brought to bear was impressive. The best manifestation was her “Magic Hand,” which has a more grotesque appearance.

Something that I did not realize is just how good of a villain Hugh Grant can bring to the screen. His charm was the exact match for the con-man Forge. Managing to maneuver and finagle his way into a Lordship took immense skill (and having Sofia to help him was nothing but an asset) and likely no small amount of bribery. He was needed to keep up with the rest of the cast and everything they were bringing with their own characters.

Let’s talk a bit about Edgin and Holgin. I love how this was a platonic relationship. You don’t need it for friends to raise a kid. Edgin (Chris Pine) didn’t need to be a magic user. He did exactly what a Bard can do. Be the person who helps the party get into (or out of) trouble. With him being more of a normal human (with a background in espionage) gave him a grounding element for the party. He almost always took the lead in bigger conversations. He’s closer to just someone who goes on adventures without having much to any magic of his own. He does do the one thing that Bards are great at: Inspiration. He encourages everyone to be at their best. You don’t need magic for that, just a good force of personality.

Holgin (Michelle Rodriguez) demonstrated exactly what a Barbarian can do. Fight her way straight through the trouble when it finds her. She’s also very knowledgeable about weapons. Just the scene after their escape where she is talking to their executioner about how to better take care of his axe. Plus, when they break into the castle toward the end, just seeing her fighting in the forge. Wow. She was literally grabbing weapons from everywhere and just using them very skillfully. She knows what she is good at. She also has one of the best quirks: she loves potatoes.

Also, there was Themberchad. Originally, the Underdark was considered to be a bigger plot point rather than just the Magic McGuffin is kept here. Hence, having one of the more famous residences show up. Honestly, having a massive Red Dragon like Themberchad show up was very appropriate. Themberchad was a first for me (I’ve never really gone down the path of Forgotten Realms lore). I just thought it was a unique dragon someone dreamed up for the film. Knowing there’s a stat block for this massive dragon somewhere, I might want to hunt it down for use in my own game. After I adapt him to 5e from 3.5e

I do also greatly appreciate Xerk. I loved his sword/dagger weapon. The fact he could shoot the sword blade and use the dagger contained within for more fighting was a great thing. It’s something that could be done easily in D&D. He also shows the dedicated Role Player. He is very focused, and a good Paladin. What makes a good paladin these days is a devotion to being the best version of yourself. He was a very smart one as well, knowing what to do to get across a trapped bridge) 

Overall, the story and events of the movie were very entertaining. They had the “good time for a bad idea” that is essential for any D&D adventure. Plus, it's the usual level of “Hey, I have something for that.” We all have those abilities and magic items (or spells) to deal with a number of situations. The bridge with the convoluted solution and someone tripped the trap to collapse it. Followed by the usual “I’ve got rope!” to deal with a large gap. Something like that is simply all about the possibilities that the characters can come up with. And everyone had something to bring to the table.

At its core, it’s important to remember what D&D is about. It’s about people coming together to tell a story together. It’s meant to be a cooperative experience and everyone gets their time to shine. This does mean all characters get their chance to shine. Everyone in the main party had their own time to shine throughout the whole of the story. They all had moments to shine and contributed throughout.

Let’s talk Easter Eggs. There were a lot and it was a lot of fun when I noticed them. D&D had a cartoon back in the 1980’s. One of the rival teams was dressed IDENTICALLY to them. The other has a fair resemblance to Vox Machina. But they were harder to see. When Simon did the Prestidigitation for the Fresh Cut Grass, that was a nod to Critical Role’s Campaign 3’s automaton of the same name. The Voice Actor who played Fresh Cut Grass confirmed that this was the case There was also the flooring in a few of the fight scenes. While in the Underdark, it was very clear it was on Hexagons. Mix this with when they were running around in the Contest, everything was in 5 ft squares and you’ve got the 2 common map styles. Battle maps tend to be in squares while the overworld can be done in hexes. Finally the Hither Thither Staff is meant to invoke the Portal Gun. You heard that sound right. There are so many more, but those were my favorites.

At the end of the day, it felt like a great campaign story we were all told. There is something usually worth noting. Credit Scenes! There is only 1, just someone waiting for that question. But that’s all there is. Nothing else for you. Just the impressive credits of all the people who worked on this film.If you enjoy a good action comedy heist movie, this is a movie for you. You don’t really need to know what D&D is to enjoy it. That just gives you a bit more context to what is what. But without any knowledge of D&D, things get explained well enough. Just enjoy the movie for what it is. There is no need for always a big epic story. Just having something that affects a City makes for a great story. I do recommend the movie, it’s a great popcorn flick to chill.